Green Options » Make

Audi to Launch Small Affordable Electric Cars

Andrew Williams — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:51:30 +0000

German car-maker Audi has confirmed that it plans to launch a small electric city car, most likely based on the VW Up! concept (pictured).

Speaking at last weeks Paris Motor Show, Audi management board member, Peter Schwarzenbauer, said, “we will offer a pure electric car.” He also revealed that the electric Audi “will not be based on the A1,” the firm’s premium supermini.

Folksy - Make, Sell, Buy

Kelly Rand — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:30:05 +0000

Folksy is a new online place for you crafty people in the UK, to make, sell and buy. Folksy champions cool crafts and design talent. It connects designers and crafters who have great things to sell with other like minded people who want individual, quality items that are made with love.

You can search Folksy for items by type, including handmade supplies, and of particular interest - recycled! You can also search by materials and technique. Folksy also has a small campaign that brings you right to the bags page, stating that plastic bags are out and totes are in.

For sellers, setting up a shop looks to be a pretty straight forward and simple process. It is only open to UK sellers, but plans to open up to international sellers is in the works.

Maker Faire does Green Living

Kelly Rand — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:06:52 +0000

For those of you on the West coast, this weekend is an amazing 2 day event packed full to the brim with DIY goodness. Put on by Make Magazine and Craft Magazine, Maker Faire celebrates things people create themselves—from electronic gizmos, to “slow made” foods and homemade clothes. The event is a non-stop “wow-fest” where surprises and inspiration are as ubiquitous as the festival air.

The 2008 Bay Area Maker Faire will put a special emphasis on “Green” living. There will be a huge exhibit featuring Farm Aid’s Homegrown Village, a local farmer’s market, Swap-O-Rama-Rama’s giant used clothing swap, DIY workshops and fashion show, Bazaar Bizarre’s crafts fair, a live Prius plug-in car conversion from Bay Area’s Calcars.org, and much, much more.

The Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a huge clothing swap and series of do-it-yourself workshops. Bring a bag of your unwanted clothes to swap with other participants and then learn to make modifications or totally transform your new finds. Recycling reused clothing has never been more fun.

Eight Great DIY Recycled Bags

Kelli Best-Oliver — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:23:08 +0000

Creating new bags is an simple way to recycle used materials destined for the landfill and create a unique fashion accessory. Here are eight bags you can easily make for next to nothing, on your own, without special materials, although a few projects do recommend a sewing machine.

1. Handbag knit purse from plastic shopping bags.

You’ve probably seen similar projects to this one: maybe a rug braided from plastic grocery bags. This Instructables project takes a slightly different approach: spinning the bags into a "yarn" that you then knit using an incredibly simple pattern to make a durable bag. I think you could easily make cute stripes with blue and white bags.

2. Yoga mat bag made from old pants

This project from personal fave ReadyMade magazine reuses "grandpa pants" (sorry Max!), but you can use any old pants, including denim, to make a very cute tote for your yoga mat. Can’t wait to try this one as soon as I "borrow" my mother-in-law’s sewing machine.

3. Tote bag made from old t-shirt

If there’s one thing I have a ton of, it’s old t-shirts. My storied (ha!) athletic career (and teaching career) left me with more t-shirts than I know what to do with. Most have sentimental value and I hate to throw them out, but I never wear half of them, and I’m not a fan of those t-shirt quilts. This project from Instructables is super-simple and, with a little work, could be the easy way to make all those reusable grocery bags you’ve been meaning to buy.

4. Insulated lunch bag remake.

Okay, this one is kind of cheating: it’s more of a makeover than a reuse, but if you happen to come across one of those cheap insulated lunch bags, Instructables recommends remaking it to be less hideous. Well, I’d make a cuter applique than the shifty-eyed donut, but that’s just personal taste

5. Customized reusable shopping bag

I can’t wait to try this, since I have a plethora of reusable bags I’ve gathered over the years. This Instructables project creates inner pockets in your reusable grocery bags to hold "produce bags you’re reusing at the store, a bottle of wine, or fresh baguette." Oh yes, I want to carry television-style grocery bags with a loaf of bread and leafy carrots sticking out of the top. Now I can make the myth a reality.

6. Handbag sewn from plastic shopping bags

Although the ReadyMade project on the right looks more complicated than the other projects here, the end result looks seriously stylish, and the only materials needed are grocery bags, thread, bobby pins, scissors, and a sewing machine.

7. Messenger bag from trash bags

Here’s some MacGyver bag-making: Make has a hip messenger bag, suitable for men and women, made from old trash bags using an iron to melt the plastic together. And you can watch it being made via their online video. If that’s not your bag (I couldn’t resist!), download the PDF instructions.

8. Handbags from old sweaters

If you’ve got old sweaters, Cosby or otherwise, lying around (maybe with your grandpa pants?), WhipUp’s got a pattern to turn them into one-of-a-kind totes.